Helping Anxiety with Chiropractic Care
Anxiety is a debilitating condition that can affect many aspects of everyday life. At Innate Life Chiropractic, we offer gentle and effective chiropractic care to help reduce stress and anxiety, promoting emotional and mental health. Our office provides a calming, secure, and welcoming environment perfect for cultivating calm in your body and brain.
Since starting care, I haven’t had a single anxiety attack, and I’ve felt better and better each day.” -J.B.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue in the United States, affecting about 18% of the population, or about 40 million people. Though highly treatable, anxiety disorders are often ignored instead of addressed; only an estimated 36.9% of those suffering ever receive treatment.
Anxiety commonly falls into one of three categories:
- Panic Disorder – Affects approximately 6 million adults, with women twice as likely to be affected as men.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder – Affects 6.8 million adults, with women twice as likely to be affected as men.
- Social Anxiety Disorder – Affects around 15 million adults and is equally common among men and women.
Several anxiety disorders exist, and the medical community is still learning about anxiety. Some people have specific phobias characterized by exposure to a particular object or situation. Others have unspecified anxiety disorders that don’t meet the exact criteria for another anxiety-related diagnosis. In some cases, people can develop an anxiety disorder due to physical health problems, trauma, or substance use.
Causes for Anxiety
- Chemical imbalance
- Environmental factors
- Emotional abuse
- Neglect
- Housing problems and homelessness
- Financial issues
- Food insecurity
- Loneliness or isolation
- Physical trauma
- Experiences of harassment
- Heredity
- Recreational drug use
- Alcohol
Anxiety disorders develop from many risk factors, including brain chemistry, personality, genetics, and life events. People who have severe anxiety can frequently find normal daily activities such as shopping or work worrying. They often have trouble stopping the worry cycle. Frequently they expect the worst out of any situation for no apparent reason.
Common Symptoms
- Chest pain or tightness
- Heart palpitations or increased heart rate
- Shortness of breath and rapid breathing (hyperventilation)
- Difficulty swallowing
- Dry mouth
- Nausea and digestive upset
- Frequent urination
- Dizziness
- Uncontrollable shaking or trembling
- Feeling weak or tired
- Being easily fatigued
- Cold hands or feet
- Sweating
- Headaches, muscle aches, and unexplained pains
- Grinding teeth, especially at night
- Feeling extreme nervousness
- Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
- Feeling restless or on-edge
- Feelings of impending doom
- The feeling of being out of control
- Repeat thoughts
- Flashbacks of traumatic experiences
- Uncontrollable, intrusive thoughts (rumination)
- Dissociation, depersonalization, and realization
- Feeling self-consciousness
- Fear of judgment or negative perception
- Nightmares
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Inability to be still
- Ritualistic behaviors
- Irritability
- Rigid body posture
- Speaking with an overly soft voice
- Difficulty making eye contact
Possible Anxiety Triggers
- Stress
- Conflict
- Lack of sleep
- Self-neglect, including skipping meals
- Social gatherings
- Uncomfortable environments
- Caffeine
- Sugar
- Food allergies
- Alcohol
- Calcium, magnesium, or B vitamin deficiencies
- Chronic illness
- Certain prescription medications
Help for Anxiety at Innate Life Chiropractic
Chiropractic care is a natural and drug-free approach to achieving optimal health, focusing on the interconnected nervous system through the spinal cord, surrounded by the spine. Pressure and tension in the spinal cord can significantly impact your mood. Changing the spine and spinal cord can change how your brain operates and help you experience greater peace and ease.
By promoting the health of your nervous system, chiropractic care offers an effective way to manage and reduce anxiety symptoms without the harmful side effects of medications such as Benzodiazepines or SSRIs. Chiropractic care is an excellent option if you’ve had little or negative results with prescription or over-the-counter medications for your anxiety. Many people with anxiety benefit from a combination of traditional mental health treatments and chiropractic care.
InSight
At Innate Life Chiropractic, we will perform an assessment, InSight neurospinal scans, and evaluate your posture to discover exactly where your body is out of balance. After analyzing the findings, Dr. Nathan will develop a customized care plan to help improve the health of your body, spine, nervous system, and life.
Tonal Chiropractic Adjustments
The effects of anxiety can take a physical toll on the body, especially when the nervous system runs “fight or flight” all the time.
Tonal chiropractic allows your body to find harmony between sympathetic overdrive and exhaustion. It relieves abnormal tension in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. This method allows your brain and body to be more adaptable and resilient. Dr. Nathan uses a combination of MLS, Network Spinal Analysis, Biogeometric Integration, and MC2 to help your nervous system shift from stress to healing.
Zone Healing
Dr. Nathan will adjust the vertebrae in the affected area to increase your range of motion and take pressure off the spinal nerves. He will focus on the imbalanced zone(s) connected to your challenge and begin care from there. People will often have imbalances in all the zones to some degree—glandular, eliminative, nervous, digestive, muscular, and circulatory.
Getting Started
At Innate Life Chiropractic, we focus on your innate ability to heal, grow, and thrive. Everything we do is in service to unleashing that potential. Contact Palatine’s premier family chiropractor for help with anxiety today.